


Goodbye Bae Bae

by Kelticmoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Pet Loss, pet death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 21:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20478011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelticmoon/pseuds/Kelticmoon
Summary: Bae Bae gets sick and has to be put to sleep.(Sorry in advance for the feels trip)





	Goodbye Bae Bae

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after my fixit series so Shiro's a Holt now.
> 
> I just had to make the hardest decisions I've ever made and have one of my cats to sleep so obligatory pet death fic to help me let off some of my grief.
> 
> Sorry, Pidge, you and Keith are the only Paladins with confirmed pets (the mice don’t count) and Keith’s lost enough.

“Kidney failure?! But she’s only 6!”

A year after they returned from space, Bae Bae started peeing all over their house.

That’s why Pidge and her mom brought Bae Bae to the vet, thinking it was a UTI.

“While kidney failure is seen more in elder dogs, unfortunately bull terriers are prone to kidney problems,” the vet tells them.

“Is there anything we can do?” Pidge asks.

The vet looks at her kindly.

“Well, with kidney failure there are a number of things that can be done to prolong it, but there is no reversing kidney failure. Ultimately, you would be delaying the inevitable.”

“So what can we do?” Pidge’s mom asks.

“It honestly depends on how quickly they’re failing. Bring her back in a month and we’ll evaluate to see how quickly she’s progressing. In the meantime, encourage her to eat and drink water and expect more accidents as it gets worse.”

Pidge remains hopeful over the next month as they take of Bae Bae. However, it’s obvious she’s getting worse. She’s losing weight, she’s peeing everywhere. So when Bae Bae’s follow-up appointment comes, she isn’t one bit surprised to hear Bae Bae’s progressed almost to stage 3 renal failure. When they get home with Bae Bae, her mom calls a family meeting to tell the others what they learned and to decide what to do. After thinking long and hard, they decide to have Bae Bae put to sleep before any of the more painful and traumatic symptoms hit.

“I’ll drive you all to the vet and back,” Shiro tells them. “I’m going to miss her, but I didn’t know her as long as you guys so I’ll sit in the waiting room while you guys go back with her.”

Pidge’s mom looks at him.

“We couldn’t ask you to do that, Takashi.”

“You didn’t, Mom. I’m insisting.”

The following Friday morning, Shiro drives the four Holts and Bae Bae to the vet. He helps the Holts decide whether they want to take the body, have her ashes returned to them, or leave the body (they chose to have her ashes returned to them in a few hours).

It’s the only time Pidge has ever seen her father and brother cry.

Shiro drives them all home and when they get the call from the vet that the ashes are ready, Shiro goes to get them. Pidge’s mom then uses the ashes to plant some wildflowers on Bae Bae’s favorite spot in their backyard.

Pidge goes for a walk that night for the first time without Bae Bae. She hasn’t even stepped off the driveway when the tears start. She makes it as far as the little playground in her neighborhood when she can’t fight the sobs anymore. Pidge sits on the playground bench and cries.

When someone sits beside her on the bench, she doesn’t need to look to see its Shiro.

Pidge turns into him and hugs him as she cries. Shiro silently wraps her in a hug and lets her.

“It was for the best!” Pidge cries after a second. “If we had waited any longer, she would have been in so much pain and her death would have been a lot more violent and traumatic! I know in my heart it was the right choice! So why does it hurt so much?!”

“Knowing it was for the best doesn’t make this any less painful,” Shiro tells her.

“I miss her so damn much! I keep expecting her to greet me at the door when I get home or lay next to me on the bed like she did her last night with us.”

“Of course you do. She was your dog. You love her.”

“Did she know that though? In those final moments, did she know?”

“Pidge even though Bae Bae had a short life, she also had an amazing one. She got to see things no other Earth dog has. She got to go into space, meet all kinds of aliens, and play with a space wolf. I have no doubt she knew she was loved.”

Pidge cries herself out not long after that. Pidge sniffles and pulls away.

“It hurts…”

“It probably will for a long time,” Shiro tells her.

Pidge looks up at Shiro.

“Thanks.”

“What are adopted brothers for?”


End file.
